WorldWide Drilling Resource®

39 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® FEBRUARY 2020 Open the Doorway to all the Event Photos during Groundwater Week 2019 To see more photos from this event, go to www.worldwidedrillingresource.com Feel free to download at will and print the photo(s) of your choice. Compliments of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® . Photos are copyrighted and released for personal use only - no commercial use permitted. Diamond Button Bits for Top Hammer Drilling Adapted from Information by Robit Plc Robit is launching diamond button bits for top hammer drilling. Most bits use hard metal buttons, but in the new Robit Diamond Button Series bits have an industrial diamond coating. This lasts a lot longer than regular bits and does not need to be sharp- ened. The company has been developing the process for five years. The diamond coating on the buttons is actually made the same way diamonds are made in nature, with high pressure and heat, which makes it even more durable than a natural diamond. “The coating has several layers, which ensures adherence and enables the diamond bit to withstand the shocks and heat fluctuations of top hammer drilling. Robit Group has previously used the diamond coating with success in oil and gas operations in softer substrates. Now the durability of diamond is offered for the first time for shock drilling in hard rock,” explained Robit Plc’s Niko Ojala, R&D (research and development) engineer and materials specialist. Field tests have been overwhelmingly positive with improving results and great success. The company has signed an agreement with the Agnico Eagle Kittilä mine in Finland to start using the Diamond Button Series. The mining operation hopes the diamond bits will increase the efficiency of remote drilling. “When drilling hard granite, you may have to sharpen - i.e. change - a traditional hard metal button bit, for example after [about 260 feet], while with the di- amond button bit you can drill nearly [3280 feet]. And as the diamond buttons do not, in practice, wear out, then their penetrating ability does not deteriorate like regular hard metal buttons. Drilling speed therefore remains the same throughout the bit’s time of use. Similarly, the di- ameter of the borehole does not decrease as the bit ages, resulting in a more consistent and predictable end result in production drilling. The many times longer change interval of the bit saves time and is particularly important for remote-controlled drill rigs in fully automated mining environments where people are not present during the process,” concluded Ojala. MIN